But you got to see Jesus!

Yesterday's gospel was the story of "doubting Thomas" found in John 20:19-31.  I focused on the idea that Thomas just wanted an equal opportunity experience to see Jesus.  And apparently I'm getting into even shorter sermons, as this one along with my three Holy Week sermons, are each under a page in length.  


Enjoy!

We all know Thomas’ nickname:  Doubting Thomas.  But it is a pretty undeserved nickname.  Yes Thomas said “unless I see the mark of nails in his hands and place my finger in them and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  But Thomas was not asking for anything different than what the rest of the disciples got. 

It was Easter evening, Mary Magdalene had come flying in the house that morning telling the disciples “I have seen the Lord,” and yet here they were in a locked room, fearful that the Jewish and Romans leaders would crucify them next.  They had not believed Mary and yet we do not call them “Doubting Peter” or “Doubting James”

Thomas was not asking for anything more than the other disciples and Mary had received, a time to see Jesus, alive again, risen indeed.  And it was not until Jesus proved to the disciples who he was, by showing them his hands and his side that the disciples rejoiced for they had seen the Lord.  Thomas wanted to experience the risen Lord for himself.

And isn’t that really what we all want?  Isn’t that really want is at the heart of our faith?  What forms it and makes it a tangible thing?  We all want to see and experience the risen Christ.  Without those experiences we do not have faith, at least not for long.  It is the God moments, moments when we see God in our lives, times when we have seen the Lord, or have felt the Holy Spirit’s presences that keep us in faith. 

And when you hear someone else’s story about how they have seen God and you have never experience God for yourself, or have never seen the Lord, or have never felt the Holy Spirit, you feel left out.  You yearn to experience it your self.  You desire to have your own encounter with the Word made flesh. 

We are exactly like Thomas and the rest of the disciples, not wanting to just hear about other people’s experiences but we want to experience them for ourselves. 

And yet Jesus came back for Thomas.  Jesus came back to the disciples, he appeared for the third time now, this time when Thomas was present so Thomas could see for himself.  So comes could touch Jesus’ hands and side and not just hear what the others had to say but also experience the Risen Christ for himself.

And Jesus comes to us as well.  We might not always realize it.  We might not be able to name our experiences as times when Jesus has acted in our lives.  We might not always be able to comprehend that it was God who was working in our lives or that it was the Holy Spirit who was causing us to feel such great emotions.  But it is!  God is with us wherever we go, whenever we go there.  Some times we just have to pay attention so that we no longer have to just rely on others telling us “We have seen the Lord” and instead can say with confidence “I have see my Lord, and my God!”